How Justin Trudeau’s India Tour Became a Diplomatic Disaster?

Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister is known as an enthusiastic defender of progressive values. He is seen as a global leader who is liberal, open, tolerant and thoughtful.

Trudeau is a self-styled feminist who takes political correctness to new heights. Unfortunately, his popularity is on the decline at home. He just returned from a cross- Canada speaking tour that turned out to be a failure.

While explaining why his government was fighting a veterans’ group over pension payments, Trudeau told a wounded war hero that Canadian veterans were asking for more money than his government was willing to give. This left a sting given that Trudeau’s government awarded convicted Al-Qaeda terrorist Omar Khadr $10.5 million without going to court.

Next question was asked why his government was welcoming members of IS back into Canada. Trudeau’s tone-deaf response was to equate IS terrorists with other waves of immigration to Canada, including Europeans who fled Nazi Germany during World War II. Canadians weren’t pleased. And skepticism towards Trudeau’s naive arrogance continues to mount.

Now, Trudeau is treated differently, however, while travelling on the world stage. His long tour to India was supposed to be a fresh opportunity to capitalize on his international popularity, but that turned out as a disaster.

The trip started off one a disappointing note, as the Trudeau delegation was received by a state minister, not even a member of Prime Minister Modi’s cabinet. International and local observers said that he was given a cold shoulder, over unscrupulous ties between his Liberal Party and Khalistani separatists and extremists.

Trudeau has further aligned his party with the powerful World Sikh Organization, and appointed several of its supporters to high ranking government positions.

Trudeau’s partisan pandering went so far as attending a Khalsa Day parade in Toronto in 2017, where he gave a speech and was photographed in front of the yellow-and-blue Khalistan separatist flag. Trudeau’s predecessor Stephen Harper refused to attend this event, and for good reason. These events feature militant Khalistani parade floats, posters and shrines dedicated to terrorists, and speakers calling for a violent upheaval in India. Trudeau’s poor judgement in attending this event was catching ..

Trudeau’s time in India was criticized for its lack of official business, not to mention the excessive photo-ops and insensitive overuse of Indian clothing. To add insult to injury for Canadians, his tax-payer funded tour looked more like another lavish family vacation — including his own celebrity chef flown in from Vancouver — than a diplomatic bilateral meeting.